Chapter 7

On New Year's Eve, Feng Xiaotian sat in front of his computer. Tonight, he had a very important task to accomplish: to truly connect his computer to the wireless network.

Through his studies over the past few days, Feng Xiaotian finally realized how ridiculous his initial idea had been. He thought that simply installing a radio signal receiver on his computer would work, but he failed. At the time, he had a vague sense of the many difficulties involved, but after several days of study, he realized that these difficulties were far more challenging than he had imagined!

Firstly, the frequencies received by computers and radios are vastly different. Although both are electromagnetic waves, adjusting the radio signal receiver to the computer's frequency band was an impossible task. This was due to the power issue; the difference between the two was too great to be adjusted. To put it simply, it was like trying to fit a large foot into a small shoe.

If the foot is much larger than the shoe, even if you force it, it won't fit. How can you wear the shoe? To solve this problem, you need to change to a larger shoe. In other words, the signal receiver Feng Xiaotian installed on his computer needed to have a higher power.

Although this problem was difficult, there was still hope. After some thought, Feng Xiaotian went to Old Li and found a broken "Sanyo." What is a Sanyo? It's quite simple—this is a larger radio with the ability to play cassette tapes. Since the first large radios to enter the domestic market were from Japan's Sanyo company, all similar products in the country were called "Sanyo."

Feng Xiaotian spent one yuan to buy the signal receiver from this large radio. There was no choice; the overall price of such items was quite high, so even the parts were expensive. Feng Xiaotian installed this wireless signal receiver on his computer, thus solving the problem of the large foot and the small shoe.

After Feng Xiaotian's adjustments, the receiver's frequency was synchronized with the computer's wireless network signal. This involved highly specialized knowledge, and Feng Xiaotian spent a lot of effort to finally solve the problem. Additionally, this signal receiver had the advantage of not requiring batteries; it could be used with a regular power source, saving Feng Xiaotian the cost of buying batteries. At the time, a pair of small batteries cost fifty cents, while a pair of large batteries cost one yuan. For Feng Xiaotian, this was a pleasant surprise.

The problem of receiving network signals was solved, and the next step was to solve the problem of transmitting signals from the computer. Feng Xiaotian found an old wireless signal transmitter from Old Li and installed it on his computer, thus achieving bidirectional signal transmission. This wireless signal transmitter was taken from a broken mobile phone. In this era, mobile phones were extremely expensive, starting at tens of thousands of yuan. Feng Xiaotian spent over ten yuan just to buy the signal transmitter, almost breaking his heart. Although the signal transmitter on the mobile phone also had the ability to receive wireless signals, its data reception and transmission capabilities were very limited. If it had to perform both tasks simultaneously, even if it connected to the wireless network, the internet speed would be extremely slow. Therefore, it was better to separate the signal reception and transmission tasks to ensure smooth network operation.

After completing all this, a new problem arose. When Feng Xiaotian turned on his computer, it still displayed a stream of gibberish. Through his research, he finally found the key to the problem. This issue was more complicated and even more difficult to handle than the signal receiver problem.

The signals emitted by radio waves are extremely complex digital codes. To convert these digits into real information, an information conversion process is required. Feng Xiaotian installed a large radio signal receiver, which could only convert radio digital signals and did not recognize computer signals!

Although, after Feng Xiaotian's adjustments, it had the ability to receive computer wireless signals, it could not convert the received digital signals into content that the computer could display. There was no way; it wasn't designed for that.

Since the signal receiver could not convert the information, there was only one way left—make the computer itself capable of doing so. This sounds simple, but it was extremely difficult in practice. To achieve this, the computer needed a translator—yes, a translator!

This is like two people from different countries trying to communicate. Because they don't understand each other's language, they need a translator who is proficient in both languages. What is the computer's translator? The answer is simple—data packet conversion software.

All external information received by the computer is transmitted in the form of data packets. Writing such software is no easy task.

Although Feng Xiaotian was already quite proficient in computer software, he did not understand the principles of data packet transmission. What capabilities does a translator need? At least a familiarity with the languages of both parties, right?

This was Feng Xiaotian's problem. He was very familiar with the computer's language but did not understand data packets. To solve this problem, Feng Xiaotian even spent several consecutive days at the city center library. There was no choice; this was a highly specialized issue, and only large libraries had books on this topic.

After several days of study, Feng Xiaotian finally understood the principles. With this problem solved, the next step was programming, which was the most painful part. Using his knowledge, Feng Xiaotian began the tedious work of programming using the most basic BASIC language.

For nearly ten days, Feng Xiaotian was completely engrossed in programming. Today was New Year's Eve, and it was also the day he was about to complete his programming. His hands rapidly clicked on the computer keyboard, and his eyes were fixed on the screen, seemingly not worried about making any mistakes. When the last character of the program was input, Feng Xiaotian suddenly slapped the table and burst into laughter, "Hahaha! Finally done!"

Feng Xiaotian, like a child, jumped around the room, looking extremely funny. His heart was filled with joy. To him, the happiest thing in life was to put his ideas into practice. The sense of satisfaction after success was incredibly beautiful, and it was impossible to understand without experiencing it. Of course, Feng Xiaotian had no attachments; exploring new fields was the meaning of his life.

After a long while, Feng Xiaotian calmed down. He rubbed his sore fingers and sat back in front of the computer. Since the program was completed, the next step was to debug it and check for any syntax errors. Feng Xiaotian quickly finished debugging, and the software had no issues. He embedded the program into the computer's operating system and activated the software, which then ran on the computer.

As the interface changed, the computer finally displayed a message indicating that the signal reception was normal. Feng Xiaotian eagerly began his exploration.

However, he soon stopped because he was connected to the domestic network, which at the time only had small local area networks and not the internet described in computer books.

Feng Xiaotian was disappointed. This was not the result he wanted. He wanted to freely explore the vast ocean of the internet. What was the point of being confined to a small pond?